Pokémon: Hopes & Dreams
by SuperGenX
Summary: It's been four years since Johto. Four years since Ash separated from Misty and Brock, and Ash has regretted it ever since. Alone and without a purpose, Ash has been a wanderer for over a year. But a week before his Birthday he gets a call that has him heading back to Pallet Town, unsure of what may await him. Pokéshipping included, not as dark as it sounds. :D
1. A1-C1: The Original Trio

**Whoa, what's this? A new story? About something other than an Xbox 360 game?!**

**Yeah, just noticed that my only stories so far have been about games on the 360, so I've decided to mix things up a little! I'm actually a big Pokemon fan, and I have been ever since the first episode in 1996 and the release of Red, Green, and Yellow. (I got all of em! =D)**

**However, ever since after the Johto Region I felt that the show had started going slightly downhill. The humor was getting bland, Ash became boring, and don't even get me started on them getting rid of Misty! God HELP YOU if you mention Misty leaving!**

**However, it was when Diamond and Pearl premiered when the show started to annoy me. I mean REALLY annoy me. So, I've decided that I'll take the ending of the Johto, and start shaping what happens next into a story of my own. Tell me what you think!**

* * *

_Arc 1_

_Chapter 1: The Original Trio_

"Take care, Ash…" Misty said, putting up a grin.

"You too Misty." Ash said, hesitantly. He knew what was to come in the following few minutes, and he wasn't too thrilled about it. However he wasn't going to show his sorrow directly to his friends, especially since this might have been the last time he'd see them.

Misty looked down at the ground, fumbling a pebble with her shoe. "Will I… um…" She hesitated, trying to figure out just how exactly she was going to say it. She looked back up at Ash, her bright blue eyes hopeful. "Will I see you again?" She finally asked.

"You will." Ash grinned confidently. "I swear!" How could he not see her again? They had known each other for three years and become such great friends. No matter how far away they would venture, they'd find a way to see each other again one day.

Brock looked on at the two in silence with a nervous smile. He, just like Ash, didn't want to leave Misty's side for a second. After everything they'd been through together, Brock just couldn't imagine simply emailing Misty every few days.

_Hang on._ He thought. _Email? Why does that ring a bell?_

"HOLD EVERYTHING!" Brock suddenly shouted, forcing Ash and Misty to jump in surprise.

"What the heck's gotten into you Brock?" Ash asked, still a little surprised.

"I uh… also have to go home right away." Brock said sheepishly. "I kind of got an email yesterday telling me to run some errands and stuff." Ash and Misty looked at each other in shock, and then back at Brock.

"Why are you just now mentioning this?" Ash asked.

"Heh." Brock sweatdropped, laughing nervously. "I uh… guess I forgot."

"Or maybe it's because you don't want to leave?" Misty suggested, knowing full well what Brock was going through.

"Yeah… probably." Brock admitted. While Brock and Misty laughed softly, Ash looked at both of his friends with a look of slight anguish. First Misty… and now Brock? How was he going to deal with this? He felt Pikachu shift on his shoulder and figured that he must have been feeling the same way.

"Well… I guess this is where we all split up…" Brock said hesitantly. He forced a smile on his face so not embarrass himself in front of his friends.

Misty smiled nervously and looked over at Ash, whom looked like he was down in the dumps. Misty looked over at the path she was about to take, and then back at Ash. _Aww, Ash…. _She thought.

"Are you sure you'll be fine without me, Ash?" She asked, hoping to hear Ash plead for her to stay. She didn't want to break up from the group; there was so much more they could do together.

Ash looked up at her and opened his mouth to say something, but no sound came out. He wanted her to stay, but he knew that she also had a responsibility to the Gym as a Gym Leader. _Just ask her to stay you moron!_ He thought to himself. _No… that would be selfish. I can't ask her to do something like that._

Eventually, Ash put up a fake smile and shrugged. "I'll… I'll be fine." He said, trying to convince himself that he needed to let her go. _No, what are you doing?! This could be your last chance!_

When Ash said that, a part of Misty wanted to cry. The boy she once meet three years ago who couldn't even tie is own shoes had matured greatly into someone who could take care of himself. Brock let out a sad sigh and looked at both of his friends. "I guess… I'll see ya guys then."

"Wait…" Ash said suddenly. Misty and Brock both looked at Ash, who was looking at the ground and had his hat covering his eyes from view. "I want… I want you guys to promise me something." Ash tensed as he fought back the flood of tears that desperately wanted to make his face their waterpark.

"What is it?" Brock asked, curious.

"Yeah Ash, what's up?" Misty asked. _Please… I want to stay. Just say the word and I'll stay!_

Ash looked up at his friends and held out his hand. "I want you guys to promise that we'll meet up again one day! And that when we do, we'll go on another adventure together!" He almost choked as he made his request, causing both Brock and Misty to smile warmly.

Misty was the first to set her hand on top of Ash's. "I promise." She choked, a few tears already running down her face.

"Oh Misty, don't start crying now!" Brock said. "'Cause if you do… I'll… I'll..!" Brock wiped away a few tears before they could show, and Ash and Misty laughed. Brock smiled at their laughter, happy that he could make his friends laugh one last time before they went their separate ways.

"Come on Brock, it'll be dark soon." Ash said, struggling against his own tears. Brock nodded and put his hand on top of Misty's.

"I promise too." He said, smiling. After a few seconds, he added "Even if, and I say IF, we don't meet again, I'll never forget you guys."

Pikachu jumped into the middle of their hands and put his paw on top of eveyones hands. "Pi-Pikachu!" He exclaimed, wanting to get in on the pact. The Trio smiled at Pikachu, and for a while they just stayed there with their hands together.

"Well… I guess you guys ought to get going." Ash said, pulling his hand back.

"Yeah, I guess so." Misty said, regretfully. Brock nodded in agreement.

"See you… in the future?" Ash asked smiling.

Misty and Brock smiled and nodded at the same time. "Definitely!"

"Pikachu!" Ash heard Pikachu say enthusiastically. Ash looked at Pikachu, who was sitting on his shoulder, and smiled. "Pika-Pi?" Imagine Ash's surprise when Pikachu's mouth didn't move when he clearly heard him talk.

"What the heck?" He asked himself, as he started to slowly wake up. When Ash opened his eyes, Pikachu was resting on his lap, nudging him with his head.

"Pika-Pi." Pikachu said, glad he was able to wake up his master.

"Hey buddy, are we almost there?" He cooed, petting Pikachu gently on the head whom let out a soft squeak. Ash looked around and found himself still sitting alone (besides Pikachu of course) on the train back to the Kanto Region. He looked out of the window just in time to see the train pass the exact path that he had last seen Brock and Misty four years ago.

_Four years._ He repeated several times in his head. _I can't believe it's been four years already._ Ash rubbed his face with his hand, feeling the peach fuzz that just wouldn't develop into a full beard to save his life. Just then Ash was hit with a small wave of depression throughout his body. For the first three years he'd been traveling around the Hoenn Region, mostly by himself. Luckily for him, he met a girl and her brother somewhere along the way and decided to travel with them while getting the badges to compete in the Hoenn League.

But, unlucky for him, he lost in the semi-finals of the Hoenn League and was actually dealing with some minor depression for the first few weeks. He got over it eventually, realizing that there were several other Leagues out there waiting to be conquered.

But for the past year, he'd just been a wanderer. Traveling to places all over Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn, capturing and training Pokémon while documenting them in his Pokédex. Although he may not have earned a single badge for a whole year, it filled him with pride to have captured over two hundred of the Pokémon in the three Regions he's visited. Professor Oak was surely impressed, with Ash even catching more Pokémon in a year than Gary had in the past four years combined. Of course, that's because Gary was focusing on beefing up the Pokémon he had, rather than catching as much as he could.

About a week ago however, Ash called his mother for the first time in months to check up on her. His mom used the opportunity by asking him if he'd like to celebrate his seventeenth birthday back in Pallet Town. This would entail Ash arriving two days before his birthday and staying for a week before getting back on the road.

At first Ash was hesitant, but Delia was eventually able to convince him to take a train over. Before he got off the phone with her, she had said that she had a big surprise in store for him when he got home. He could only speculate what she meant by that.

Ash glanced over at the TV at the front of the train car and saw the train's progress map, which showed them being just about a minute from the station. _Alright, might as well start getting ready._ He thought to himself. Ash stood up so quickly that Pikachu had to jump to the seat across from them so he wouldn't fall on the floor. Ash snickered a little and pet Pikachu's head. "Sorry buddy, my bad."

After Ash was done petting Pikachu, he turned around and put on a dirty black jacket he'd been wearing for the past few months, his lucky championship hat, and a pair of black fingerless gloves. He sighed as he looked down at his jacket, which had definitely seen some serious punishment. _Damn you Team Rocket._ He cursed the trio of thieves who hadn't stopped following him, despite never staying in one place for more than a few days.

They were persistent, he had to give them that. He didn't really view them as a threat anymore… no, more like an annoyance. Last time he squared off against them was yesterday when he was on his way to the train. They popped out of nowhere and tried to steal Pikachu as usual, but because Ash had a schedule to keep he brought out his Typhlosion and blew them away. However he also accidentally blew away some of his jacket too. Such a shame, it was a nice jacket.

Ash glanced up to the roof as the intercom dings to let people know it's on. "Attention passengers, we have now arrived at Viridian City; the city of Evergreen." A woman's voice pinged.

Ash looked down at Pikachu and smiled. "Well Pikachu, you ready to go?" Ash grinned. Pikachu cooed happily and jumped up onto Ash's shoulder as he walked to the front of the train car. He found it funny how he was literally the only passenger on the train at this point, as the ride had originally started off with almost a full house.

The train finally came to a complete stop, and a ding on the intercom signaled the train doors to slide open almost without a sound. Ash stepped off the train and took in a deep breath of that Viridian City air, eventually letting out a huge sigh. "Oh man, it's good to be back!" He yelled as he stretched his arms into the air. It was a decent winter morning in Kanto with the air still fresh with the scent of morning dew.

"Pika-Pika?" Pikachu scratched the back of his head and looked at Ash, confused.

"Oh no, I meant Kanto in general!" Ash corrected himself. "Of course, we still have to walk to Pallet Town."

Pikachu let out a disappointed "Pikaaa…" and dropped his ears. Ash laughed softly.

"Oh come on, it's not that bad." He cooed. "Sure it might take a few more hours, but can you really see us doing it any other way?"

"Did you ever think about using a car?" Ash heard someone on the landing ask. He turned around to find the source of the voice, and was completely frozen from shock and awe at the man who towered before him. Ash just stared at the man, completely dumbstruck. "What's the matter squirt? Ain't you never seen your own father before?" It was his father, Jay Ketchum.

"D-Dad?!" Ash eventually managed to choke out. "You're... you're here?!" Ash couldn't believe what he was seeing. Here he had thought that his Dad was still over in the Unova Region working with the Pokémon Rangers, but here he was! Standing right before him!

"Damn kid, you've really gotten tall haven't you?" He put his hand on top of Ash's hat and rubbed it around. "Last time I saw you, you were still up to my knee!" Jay was still about a half foot taller than Ash, even though Ash had grown considerably taller during his years of traveling.

Ash suddenly wrapped his Dad in a hug, whom immediately returned it. "What are you doing here Dad?" He asked. "I thought you were… doing Ranger stuff in Unova!" Honestly it had been years since Ash ran into a Pokémon Ranger, and he had forgotten the details of what their work entitles.

"Well I got a call from the higher ups in the Rangers." Jay started to explain. "They told me to pack my bags a month ago and get on the earliest flight to Kanto." He pulled Ash away from him and looked down at him. "I've been transferred to be a Viridian Forest Ranger." He said with a wide grin as he delivered the good news. "You'll be seeing a lot more of me around here now!"

"Great, looks like we'll have to warn the authorities." Ash said jokingly. Jay lightly punched him in the shoulder.

"You little punk! Still got your sense of humor I see." He laughed. Jay suddenly felt something tug at his leg, and looked down to see Pikachu lightly pulling at his jeans. "Oh cool! So this is you're Pikachu!" Jay reached down and picked up Pikachu to get a better look at him. "Hmm… he's pretty fit for a Pikachu." He said, noticing Pikachu's slender frame. Jay then poked one of Pikachu's cheeks and got a strong static shock. "Oh wow! You've got a powerful one here!"

"Yeah, Pikachu's my best buddy!" Ash said joyfully. "Isn't that right Pikachu?"

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed.

"Well it's good to hear that your Pokémon consider you a friend!" Jay said, setting Pikachu down on Ash's shoulder. "So what do you say? You want to make like a bay and leaf?" Jay said jokingly.

"You bet!" Ash said, now wishing he'd brought his actual Bayleef to show his Dad. Once Ash and Jay got in the car, they immediately started making their way to Pallet Town. On the way there they talked about the many adventures both of them have had in the past years, the Pokémon they've seen, and people they've met. Apparently Ash wasn't the only one who had to deal with an evil Pokémon organization, as Jay had dealt with Team Plasma on multiple accounts.

It took about two and a half hours for them to reach Pallet Town, but it seemed like the trip had only lasted for a few minutes as both father and son were having a blast talking about Pokémon.

"Heyey, look at that!" Jay exclaimed as he drove the car out of the forest and into the bright, beautiful hills of Pallet Town. Probably the most prominent feature of the town was Professor Oak's lab at the top of the hill in the distance, but what Ash really noticed was all the flowers blooming all over the rolling hills and flat plains.

_God… I never realized how much I've missed this place._ Ash thought to himself as his Dad drove closer to their house. Ash was having a feeling of nostalgia being back in Pallet Town after all these years, and he suddenly couldn't wait to be back home.

"So I guess we need to get you a new jacket at some point, huh?" Jay asked as they passed by a Pokémart.

Ash took one last look at his poor jacket and smiled. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Sooo…" Jay glanced at Ash, who raised an eyebrow at Jay. "I'm guessing you prefer black now?"

Ash chuckled. "No, actually. Winter was just setting in and I had to make my way through some mountains so I grabbed the warmest jacket they had."

"Ah." Jay nodded. "So blue is still your favorite color then?" He asked hopefully. Ash couldn't help but feel that the questions pertained to something else, but he kept that to himself.

"Yup. Still lovin blue." Ash assured.

Jay let out a sigh of relief, probably thankful that he'd gotten the right present. "Alright Ash, here we are!" Jay sang as he pulled the car into the Ketchum driveway and lightly honked the horn. Ash jumped out of the car with Pikachu right behind him as he headed up to the front door.

"Whoa! Slow down there kid!" Jay said, chuckling. "Jeez, you'd think you haven't been home in years… oh wait a second." Jay joked as he locked the car doors and walked up to the door with Ash.

Before either of them could open the door, Delia Ketchum, Ash's mother, swung the door open with a wide smile on her face. "Oh, Ash! I've missed you so much!" She said as she tightly wrapped her arms around her son. "Oh my… you've gotten so big!" She choked. "I don't have to bend over to give you a hug anymore!" Ash smirked as he returned his mom's hug.

"Aw Mom, I missed you too!" Ash said lovingly.

In the middle of their embrace, Pikachu jumped up onto Ash's shoulder. "Pi-Pikachu!" He said, nudging his head against the side of Delia's face. Ash and Delia released their hug as Delia smiled at Pikachu.

"Well, hello Pikachu!" She giggled, picking up Pikachu and bringing him in for a small hug of his own. "I missed you too!" Pikachu let out a satisfied "chaaa!" and Delia set him back on Ash's shoulder.

Ash's stomach growled loudly, causing him to laugh nervously as Delia and Jay snickered. "Yeah, I guess I'm a little hungry." Ash blushed when his stomach growled even louder than before. "Ok, maybe I'm really hungry."

"Well come on in! We've just started putting together breakfast!" Delia led him into the house as Ash raised an eyebrow.

"'We?'" He echoed. "Who's 'we'?"

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, someone came from behind Ash and covered his eyes with their hands. Judging from how they were positioned over his eyes, Ash could tell that whoever it was must have been shorter than him. "Guess who!" Sang a female voice.

Not just any female voice, but a very familiar female voice. Ash held his breath as he thought he realized who it was, and he slowly reached up to the pair of hands and gently took them in his. _Soft… and tiny…_ He thought.

Ash removed the hands from his face and slowly turned around to face the voice. The girl standing before him was about half a foot shorter than he was, with aqua blue eyes, a slender figure, and long red hair that extended to her upper back. Her face was flushed with red as she cupped her hands together in front of her and swayed left to right nervously.

"Do you remember me Ash?" The girl asked with a small smile.

The only thing that Ash recognized in the girl was her face, but that's all he needed. He immediately pulled her into a tight hug as he fought back his tears. "Misty Waterflower." Ash said, struggling against his scratchy throat. Of COURSE he remembered her. How could he ever forget?

Misty certainly didn't expect Ash to be so emotional about seeing her again, but she did enjoy the attention she was getting from him. Just as Ash was struggling against his tears, Misty was also holding back the flood gates. She was about to wrap her arms around him, but Ash pulled away from her and tried to regain his composure before she could.

Ash cleared his throat, pretending he didn't randomly hug his friend on impulse. "It's uh… great to see you again!" Ash swallowed hard, hoping that he didn't come off as being a little weird. He hated when he did that.

Misty however found it adorable how Ash, even when almost an adult, still got embarrassed over the smallest of things like a simple hug. "Yeah, it's great to see you too!" Misty replied, smiling. "I'm sorry that I haven't been able to call or anything-" She started to apologize, but Ash placed both hands on her shoulders to stop her.

"I know." Ash started. "You've been busy with the Gym. You don't have to apologize. If anyone should apologize, it should be me for never coming to visit you on my journey."

Misty opened her mouth to say something, but that grin from Ash forced her to close it without saying a word. _Thanks Ash._ She thought to herself. _You sure have matured, haven't you?_

Jay and Delia watched this in silent bliss, with Jay throwing Delia a congratulatory smile. It was she who called Misty down saying how Ash would be home in the week to come, and Misty found some time in her schedule to come for his birthday.

"Pikachu-Pi!" Pikachu yelled and jumped right into Misty's arms. Misty giggled at Pikachu and rubbed her face against his.

"Oh Pikachu! It's so good to see you too!" She said, laughing. Pikachu was going crazy over seeing Misty again, licking her face and even letting out a soft purr. "Stop it, that tickles!"

Ash smiled warmly at Pikachu's excitement over seeing Misty again, before glancing over and seeing Togapi sitting in a highchair, chirping at Ash. Ash walked over to Togapi and stroked his spiky head. "Hey there Togapi! I haven't seen you in forever!" Togapi chirped in delight and wiggled his little feet as Ash pet him.

"Hey Misty, how do you like you're eggs again?!" Someone called from the kitchen. _Ah yes. _Delia thought. _And then there's him._

Ash looked towards the kitchen in surprise and dashed over at the other familiar voice with Misty and Pikachu right behind him. When Ash rounded the corner, he almost couldn't contain his excitement. "Oh my God, Brock! You're here too?!"

Brock turned around to face Ash, wearing a pink apron that said 'kiss the cook'. "Ash! Hey man, nice to see you again!" Brock smiled, but wasn't expecting the reaction he was getting from Ash.

Brock had, in the past few months, decided that he wanted to try and grow a goatee. Lucky for Ash, nothing else about Brock had changed that much- even his hair was the same. But it was the goatee that got Ash, and he couldn't contain his laughter. He started laughing so hard he had to grip his sides, and Misty started giggling as well. Although Misty was more giggling at Ash's laughter than she was Brock's goatee since she'd already seen it before.

Brock smiled, confused. "What's so funny?" He asked.

"What is- what is that thing on your face?!" Ash asked in between his laughs.

Brock smiled. "Oh you like it?" Brock asked sarcastically, feeling it up. "It's called that facial hair you'll never grow." He joked.

After hearing this, Ash's laughter started to die down as he looked at Brock and wiped a tear from his eye. "Touché." He replied, rubbing his face. Truth be told, he was a little jealous at how easily Brock could grow facial hair. It's just that the goatee really caught him off guard.

"Pika-Pikachu!" Pikachu greeted Brock, still in the arms of Misty.

"Pikachu! Hey there buddy!" Brock walked over and pet Pikachu with Misty still holding him.

"So…" Ash looked at his two friends, (three if you count Pikachu) and put his hands to his hips. "What are you guys doing here, huh?" Ash asked, curious.

"Isn't it obvious?" Misty asked, raising an eyebrow. "We came to celebrate your birthday!"

"Wow… that's awesome!" Ash said, excited. "I'm glad that I could see you guys again!"

"Yeah! Your Mom is letting us stay over for the week!" Brock added, before realizing that the eggs were still cooking on the stove. "Oh right! Misty, your eggs?" Brock asked.

"Just scrambled Brock!" Misty replied. "Remember? That's the only kind I'd eat when we traveled."

"Oh yeah… sorry it's been so long that I forgot." Brock pored the eggs into one pan and flipped the bacon over on the other. "Does anyone want toast?" He asked as Jay and Delia walked into the kitchen.

"Why not just make up enough for everyone, eh Brocko?" Jay asked, taking a big sniff of the bacon.

"I can't believe that you actually let Brock cook for you mom." Ash said smirking. It was certainly rare for Delia to let anyone even touch her kitchen ware, even more so to actually cook with them.

"Well, Brock wouldn't stop bugging me about it." Delia started. "He said that he could at least cook breakfast for letting him stay over, and I caved."

"Well it wouldn't be fair to have you making us ALL of our meals!" Brock said happily. "Oh! And uh, Misty! Your eggs are done!"

After Brock was done cooking breakfast, he, Misty, and Ash had some serious catching up to do at the table. Ash told them tales of his adventures across the majority of the continent, and how he had to keep dealing with Team Rocket.

Misty told stories about the many trainers who had challenged her Gym, and how most had not succeeded. She felt bad about constantly beating a handful who would return more confident than the last time they fought, but realized that it's all part of the League.

Brock told tales of all the women he encountered and how much of a womanizer he'd turned into, which Ash and Misty immediately dismissed as lies. After multiple failed attempts of convincing them otherwise, Brock eventually gave up and told of his time training as a Pokémon Breeder.

And while the Trio was catching up on lost time, Jay and Delia listened in silently, happy that they could see their son finally be his old self again. Over the years, the frequency of Ash's calls to his mother became more and more rare; sometimes not calling for three whole months. And whenever he did call, Delia could tell that something was bothering him. She was certain it was that he was lonely, as the charisma he used to display without hesitation had all but faded away. Sure, he had his Pokémon, but he missed his friends and couldn't stand the thought of venturing with anyone else.

Eventually, Delia couldn't take seeing her baby boy acting so… distantly from the world. And when Jay called her a month ago about his relocation, they started putting together a plan for their son's seventeenth Birthday. Jay personally went and tracked down Brock since they couldn't get ahold of him by phone, and Delia called up Misty at the Cerulean Gym. It didn't take them very long to put their schedules on hold and come visit their friend.

Once breakfast was done, Ash, Misty, and Brock took care of cleaning up the mess in the kitchen while Jay and Delia straightened up the dining room. Brock was cleaning the plates and putting them in the dishwasher while Ash and Misty were putting everything away.

"So… uh… guys?" Ash eventually spoke up while putting away the OJ. Brock and Misty turned to look at Ash as he closed the door to the fridge. "Just uh… how long are you planning on sticking around?" He asked.

There it was. Brock and Misty both saw it coming a mile away, but only one of them was worried about their answer. Brock smiled at Ash and gave him a thumb up. "Well… we did make a promise didn't we? So if you don't mind I'd like to get back on the road with ya!"

Ash's face beamed when he discovered this, and was too excited with Brock's response that he didn't notice Misty's look of anguish. _Oh no._ She thought. _How am I going to tell them?_ Brock and Ash's excitement died down however, when they both saw Misty's saddened face.

"Misty? What's wrong?" Ash asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. Misty looked up into his brown eyes, but she couldn't bring herself to tell him.

Misty shook her head to try and suppress her sadness, and smiled brightly at Ash. "It's nothing, I just zoned out for a second."

"I mean… alright then." Ash shrugged.

"So does that mean that you're going to start traveling with us again?" Brock asked as he beamed a smile her way.

"Well... of course!" Misty eventually answered. Ash and Brock cheered and high fived each other in celebration.

"The original trio is back!" Brock pumped a fist in the air, flinging soap bubbles from the sponge onto the ceiling.

"Yeah!" Ash sang, as he held Pikachu up and danced playfully with him. Pikachu also sang as Ash twirled him around gleefully.

Misty immediately regretted lying to her friend's faces. But why did she lie? She had no reason to lie! When she first arrived at the Ketchum house, she had it in her mind that she was only going to stay until after Ash's birthday and return to the Gym.

And then Ash had to go hug her all emotionally and stuff. He was so happy, so thrilled that he could see her again… and Misty didn't realize just how much she had missed him. She didn't want to go back to the Gym anymore… she wanted to stay with Ash and Brock.

But there was no way her sisters would let that happen. Misty had to practically beg her sisters to watch over the Gym for her while she went to see Ash, and they weren't happy about it. Misty could only imagine what they'd do if they found out she wanted to go on another Pokémon journey.

"Hey guys! We should go visit Professor Oak and see how he's doing!" Ash said as he put Pikachu gently on the ground. "I've sent him all kinds of Pokémon over the past four years!"

"That sounds like fun!" Brock agreed as he finished putting the last plate in the dishwasher. "Misty, are you up for it?"

Misty conjured up a smile. "Yeah, sounds good to me."

"Alright! Let's go!" Ash dashed out of the kitchen and almost ran right into Jay and Delia as he went to grab his shoes at the door.

"Whoa there squirt! Where are you going?" Jay asked, smiling. He was glad to see Ash so energetic, and so was Delia

"We're heading over to Professor Oaks Lab to check out all my Pokémon!" Ash said, nearly tripping over himself as he hurried to put on his shoes.

"Really?" Jay asked, curious. "Mind if your mother and I come along? I'd like to see what kind of Pokémon you've got."

"Oh Jay, I'm not really into Pokémon that much." Delia smiled.

"Nonsense!" Jay wrapped his arm around Delia and pulled her in closer. "You're a Ketchum! And we all love Pokémon stuff! Isn't that right Ash?"

"You bet it is!" Ash stood up after putting on his shoes, and Pikachu jumped up on his shoulder. "Come on Mom! I come home for the first time in months, and you want to stay here?"

Delia smiled at her boys' enthusiasm. They were defiantly father and son. "Alright, alright! I'll go too!" Delia than noticed the horrendous shape his clothes were in and almost fainted at the thought that she didn't notice them before. "But first we need to stop by the store and get you a new pair of clothes."

"That's fine with me!" Ash smiled. "Hey Brock! Misty! Let's go!" He shouted out to the kitchen.

"Coming!" Brock yelled as he ran out of the kitchen, hurriedly putting on his own green mountain jacket. Misty followed right behind him, wearing a light blue jacket and with Togapi in tow.

Ash looked at his parents, then at his friends. He couldn't help the large grin stretch across his face. He was back together with his friends, and soon he would begin a new journey together with them. He didn't know where they would go, but he didn't care. As long as he had his friends, Ash was happy.

* * *

**Well, that was more descriptive than I've ever been, huh?**

**And OOOOOOHHHH, Misty?! What are you going to do?**

**Anyway, if all goes according to plan then this story will take place over multiple Arcs, the first being the Birthday Arc, the next… well that's a secret! I guess you'll just have to wait for the chapters to come!**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I hope you're looking forward to the next!**

**GOOOD NIGHT CHILDREN!**


	2. A1-C2: The Mysterious Duo

**HELLO EVERYBODY! SuperGenX here, with another chapter of Pokémon: Hopes & Dreams!**

**And yes, I changed the name a day after I submitted the first chapter. For those wondering what it was first, it was called Pokémon: Heart & Soul. But alas, the title was used way too often on the website so I had to change it to make it easier to find. I still think Hopes & Dreams is pretty cool though. =D**

**Anyway, this is the second chapter in the Birthday Arc, and I'm not going to lie… this arc is mainly going to be like a Slice of Life story. But- wait a second, sit down! I'm not done explaining! *Achem* thank you. Anyway, the later arcs will be more about the action and adventures that Ash and his friends go on leading all the way up to the Championship Arc.**

**So yes, this story is quite ambitious! But I'll be damned if I let my fans down, so I'll finish this story no matter how long it takes! (Hopefully!) Enjoy kiddies!**

* * *

-Arc 1-

Chapter 2: The Mysterious Duo

"Hey Ash, how about this one?" Brock lifted up a black and purple jacket with the symbol of a master ball on the back and showed it to Ash. Ash scrunched his face.

"Um… I think that's for a girl Brock." Jay snickered as he pointed out the tag that clearly said "female size" next to the price.

"Jeez, even when we're shopping for Ash you still can't get women out of your head!" Misty barked, raising a fist to Brock. Brock smiled sheepishly and slowly put the jacket back on the rack. Ash smirked at Misty and Brock's antics as he looked through a coat rack.

_Some things never change._ Ash thought to himself as he looked at a bright red, long-sleeved, hooded cloak. Emblazoned in black on the back of the cloak was a Flamel and he could help but think that he'd seen it somewhere before.

"Ash, you're not actually thinking about getting THAT are you?" Misty asked as she examined the cloak.

Ash smirked at Misty and put the cloak back on the rack. "Well… it does kind of get my blood going, but I don't think it's my style." Misty smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, it looks like it would be a little short on you anyway." Misty joked, observing how the tail of the cloak only went down to his upper legs.

Speaking of which, Misty couldn't believe how tall Ash had gotten in the past four years. The last time she saw him, he was actually a little shorter than she was. Now he towered over her by about half a foot or more, and he certainly wasn't sitting around every day eating bonbons. While not ripped, Ash was defiantly in very good shape. He had grown into quite the man, and Misty couldn't help but observe how much Ash was starting to look like his father.

Unkempt hair, tall stature, brown eyes, and an amusing personality, Ash was turning into the spitting image of Jay. The only difference being that Jay was built like a Toros, and he looked GOOD. Misty figured that, if Ash kept growing like he was, he would be quite the catch. _Actually… he's quite the catch now._ She thought to herself. Misty's face flushed immediately as her mind filled with inappropriate thoughts and images of an older Ash.

While she looked away from Ash to hide her flushed face, Misty saw a nice white and blue jacket on the rack in front of her. Taking it off the rack to get a closer look at it, she observed that from the upper chest and up was blue, while the bottom half was white with blue lined pockets. Holding the jacket together at the front was a light yellow zipper that zipped from the bottom all the way to the neck.

"Watcha got there Misty?" Ash asked, causing Misty to jump a little in surprise.

"Oh, you like it?" She asked, holding it up to Ash. "I think it's really nice."

Ash took the jacket from Misty and inspected it closely. While it was made out of a silky material, something about the way it was woven together allowed it to breathe easily. The more Ash looked at it, the more he liked it.

"This is perfect." Ash eventually said, causing a smile to grow across Misty's face. "I love it!" Ash knelt down and showed the jacket to Pikachu. "What do you think Pikachu?"

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed happily.

"You find something you like?" Delia walked up to Ash and Misty with Brock and Jay right behind her. Ash took off his dirty black jacket and put on the new one, causing everyone around him to smile as he looked at himself in a mirror on the wall.

"Oh wow, that's a nice jacket." Jay said.

"I know right?" Ash replied, looking to Misty. "Misty found it for me."

"Good job there Misty." Delia smiled approvingly at her. "I'm glad you found something fashionable for him."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Ash asked, raising an eyebrow at Delia.

Delia took Ash's worn and torn black jacket from him. "I mean: I can't believe that you actually wore this travesty for a good few months!" Delia said, holding the jacket under her arm.

"Oh come on, that jacket was actually pretty cool!" Ash said, frowning at the black jacket. Sure, that jacket might not have been anything to look at, but it kept him warm and safe for the few months in the mountains.

"No Ash, that thing made you look like a hobo." Misty said sternly, crossing her arms.

Ash narrowed his eyes at Misty. "Well gee, thanks." He said sarcastically.

"Hey, at least now you've got a cool jacket!" Brock said fist bumping Ash's shoulder.

"Right, so how much is that jacket anyway?" Jay asked, grabbing the price tag on the jacket to get a look. "Oh wow, that's um…. That's a lot." Jay said, shuddering. "Maybe we should find another one?"

"Ah, don't worry about it Dad." Ash said confidently, starting for the cash register. "I've got this one."

"Hey whoa, buddy. Hold on." Jay followed Ash to the front counter with Misty, Brock, and Delia not too far behind. "That jacket is pretty expensive. Have you even looked at the price?"

"Of course I have." Ash replied, reaching the register. The girl standing behind the counter was looking at something on her phone before she realized that Ash was standing there.

"Oh, hello!" The girl smiled. "Did you find everything alright?"

"Yup, thank you." Ash replied happily. "I'm just getting this jacket here." Ash took the jacket off and set it down on the counter with the price tag facing the girl.

"Alright, will this be all?" She asked, scanning the price tag.

"Yeah, that's all." Ash reached into his back pocket, took out his wallet, and took a Competition Issued PokéCard. Misty, Brock, Delia, and Jay all looked at the card in surprise as the girl at the counter took it from Ash.

"Ash, when did you get that PokéCard?" Delia asked, still in awe.

"Oh this?" Ash said as the girl at the counter swiped the card. "I entered a bunch of these smaller competitions a few months back, and I won a couple so they issued me a card so that they could just transfer me the reward money."

"How many did you win?" Brock asked, curious. "You must have won quite a few for them to issue a card to you."

"Oh... I don't know." Ash said, putting the card back in his wallet. "Maybe… a little over twenty?"

There was a collective gasp from everyone around Ash, and that included the girl behind the counter. Ash looked around at the shocked group sheepishly, and Brock was the first to regain his composure. "Ash… that's… that's what you've been doing this whole time?!" Brock asked frantically.

"Well… no." Ash said nervously. "That was just… in the past few months."

"You've won that many small competitions in just the span of a few months?" Jay was amazed at this fact. How had he not heard anything about this until now?

"Yeah, but they were just small competitions, no big deal." Ash brushed it off, walking out of the store. The group followed him out as they started making their way to Professor Oak's lab. "I just needed some money and… you know… that was the best way I could think of."

Jay laughed and patted Ash on the back. "With a record like that, how come you haven't tried to enter another Pokémon League?" He asked, smiling.

"Well…" Ash said hesitantly. "That's a little harder to explain." Ash looked at the ground with a fallen face and kicked a pebble as he passed it.

"Is it because of the Hoenn League?" Delia asked, knowing how hard that loss had hit Ash.

"No…." Ash hesitated, thinking. "Well… maybe. I don't know, I guess that's part of it." Pikachu rubbed his face against his masters, which managed to conjure a smile from Ash as he pet him. "It's just… every single competition I've entered in I've lost. Kanto… Johto… Hoenn… I've lost every single one."

_So that's what going on._ Brock thought. Of course, it all made perfect sense why Ash hadn't entered into any Leagues recently. "So you're discouraged, is that it?" Brock asked.

Ash managed a small chuckle. "I guess so."

Pikachu's face fell as he let out a small "Pikaaa."

Ash smiled at Pikachu and pet him. "Aw, Pikachu. It's not your fault. You did everything I've asked of you, which means I'm to blame. Got it?" Pikachu purred softly as Ash scratched under his chin.

* * *

_So this is Pallet Town, huh?_ He wondered as he reached the top of the hill and looked over the quaint little town. _Pretty nice place. _The gentle breeze from Pallet Town blew through his spikey silver hair, and he couldn't help but take in a deep breath of the crisp and clean air. _That smells nice._ He thought.

While looking around the town, he glanced over and saw Professor Oak's lab sitting on top of its hill. The windmill spun around slowly and calmly, creating an almost soothing image when put together with the rest of the town.

_There it is. _He thought to himself. _Professor Oak's lab. I can't believe we actually made it._

"Hey! Can you wait up?!" He turned around as a girl with long blue hair, white cap and shirt, and blue skirt made her way up the hill to reach him. "Jeez, you just left me in the dust back there!"

He chuckled as he waited for her at the top of the hill. "Sorry, I guess I got excited."

She huffed angrily as she reached the top of the hill and was about to slug him right before she saw the beautiful view of Pallet Town. "Oh wow! This is so pretty!"

"See?" He smiled. "What did I tell you? The pictures in the papers don't do this place justice, do they?"

"So we finally made it, huh?" She asked, taking in a deep breath. "That took… a lot longer than I thought."

"Oh don't worry, this will be well worth the journey here." He smiled, and pumped his fist in the air.

"So this Professor Oak guy… you really think he can help us?" She asked, hopeful.

"Professor Oak is the foremost expert on Pokémon everywhere." He started. "He's got to know something about it."

She let out a big sigh and sat down on the hill. "I hope so." She said. "Otherwise this trip will be pointless."

"Yeah, you're probably right about that." He laughed.

She glared up at him with a look that could melt steel. "Well for your sake Grey, I hope he can help."

Grey smirked and rolled his eyes. "Oh come on Dawn, don't be so dramatic. Now let's go."

Dawn groaned as she laid down in the grass. "Oh come on! Can't we just rest for a bit?"

Grey shook his head. "We can rest once we get to the Professor's Lab." He held out his hand at Dawn. "Now come on, grab my hand."

Dawn huffed, but took Grey's hand regardless. In one motion, Grey pulled Dawn right up off the ground and back on her feet. Dawn couldn't help but laugh at Grey's enthusiasm, and the duo headed towards town.

* * *

Professor Oak was sitting at his desk, looking over some DNA from a Ditto through his microscope to see what makes them able to morph when Tracey walked in holding a box of supplies. "Hey Professor, where exactly did you want these?" He asked.

"Hm?" Oak looked up from the microscope. "Oh yes, you can just take those up to the Tech Lab." Tracey started for the stairs when the doorbell rang and echoed throughout the lab. Tracey halted and looked at the door, but Professor Oak stood up and headed for it first. "I'll get this one Tracey, you just get those supplies to the Tech Lab."

Oak opened the door and was immediately greeted by a grinning Ash and his posse. "Hey Professor! Did you miss me?"

"Ash!?" Oak asked before examining the rest of the group. "Misty, Brock, you're here too?"

"Hey, don't forget us!" Jay said as he leaned his head into the door. Delia waved from behind Ash and Misty with a small smile. "Long time no see old man! How's life?"

After the initial surprise, Professor Oak led everyone inside to the kitchen for some drinks. Tracey eventually came back and was thrilled to see the trio again. While he talked with Ash, Misty, and Brock, Oak decided to catch up with Delia and Jay.

After the group conversed, Ash explained to Oak how he wanted to show everyone the Pokémon he'd caught over the years. Oak had no objections, so the group gathered in the backlots of the lab next to a Pokébank machine. Ash spent a few minutes deciding which ones he wanted to show off first, and finally decided on the first six.

"Alright guys, do you remember Cyndaquil?" Ash asked Brock and Misty. The trio was standing out in the middle of the field along with Pikachu while Oak, Delia, and Jay sat down in some chairs, protected by the shade of a large tree.

"Aww, I remember! He was so cute!" Misty cooed.

"Well, he's kind of gone through a growth spurt since the last time you saw him." Ash smiled devilishly. Misty and Brock didn't like the look he was giving them.

"Um… what's that supposed to mean?" Brock said, nervous.

"Here, I'll show you!" Ash took out a Pokéball and pressed the button in the middle to make it grow. "Typlosion, I choose you!" Ash threw the Pokéball into the air, summoning a blinding white light from the ball to shoot towards the ground. From the light emerged a massive Pokémon with a tan underbelly, and blue back that held several red dots in a pattern across it.

The Earth shook when Typlosion landed on the ground, surprising Brock and Misty. Typlosion let out a fearsome roar, and shot massive flames out of its back. Misty jumped behind Brock in fright as Jay jumped from his seat and cheered. "Whoa! Now THAT'S a Pokémon!"

"Cindaquil evolved into a Typlosion huh?" Brock asked excitedly. Misty, however, stayed right behind Brock. "That's so cool!"

"I liked him better as a Cyndaquil." Misty laughed nervously. "He was tiny and cute."

Ash walked up to Typlosion and pet him on the snout. The flames on Typlosion's back vanished as he barked in approval at the attention. "Hey Typlosion, you remember Brock and Misty?" Ash asked, pointing to his friends.

Typlosion looked at them with a cocked head, almost as if he was trying to remember. Suddenly, he barked happily and trotted over to Misty and Brock. "Hey, he remembers us!" Brock said happily. Typlosion nudged Brock with his head, and Brock happily pet him. "Aw, you're still a little guy on the inside, aren't you?" Brock cooed as he scratched behind Typlosion's tiny ear.

Misty couldn't help but smile as the large Pokémon became putty in Brock's hands, rolling over on the ground and letting him scratch his belly. Ash was really impressed at Brock's obvious improvement at Pokémon handling, and figured that he could very well be one of the world's best breeders.

As Delia, Jay, and Oak were watching this, Tracey came up to them and tapped Oak on the shoulder to get his attention. "Excuse me professor, you have visitors at the lab."

Oak looked over at Tracey and waved his hand around in a dismissive manner. "Tell them I'm busy and to come back tomorrow morning."

Tracey narrowed his eyes and put his hand on Oak's shoulder. "Professor, it's really important." He said quietly so that Jay and Delia didn't hear. Jay, however, had heard something and glanced over curiously. Tracey noticed this and cautiously whispered something into Oak's ear, which resulted in a grim look from Oak.

"Are you sure?" Oak asked seriously, and Tracey nodded. Oak looked towards the ground for a few seconds, pondering what he had just heard. Once he got all his pieces together, he stood up and looked at Tracey. "Very well, lead the way."

"Yo Professor, something wrong?" Jay asked, taking a sip of orange juice.

Oak summoned a smile to his face as he looked back at Jay. "No, everything's fine." He lied. "Just have to take care of some business." Tracey started out for the lab, and Oak followed him.

Jay narrowed his eyes curiously as they walked towards the building. _I wonder what's got him so spooked._ He thought. After about a minute, Jay put the thought to the back of his mind and watched his son interact with his friends.

Time flew by for the group and before they knew it the sun was starting to set in the distance. Nobody had seen the Professor for the rest of the day, and Tracey used the old "he's very busy" excuse to cover for his mentor. Ash didn't really seem to mind much, and after they said their goodbyes to Tracey they headed on home to the Ketchum house.

"So, what do you guys feel like for dinner?" Delia asked cheerfully.

"I could go for anything, really." Brock said as he removed his shoes to place at the door.

"I second that notion." Jay raised his hand. "I don't care what it is as long as it's food!"

Ash grinned devilishly at his father and laughed manically. "So then you could eat… fried Magikarp?"

Jay shuttered as he remembered his first experience trying to eat a magikarp years ago… not only was it hard as a rock, it was disgusting too. "Ash, you know as well as I do that magikarp is NOT a food." He laughed nervously.

"I don't know about you guys, but I could go for some soup." Misty said smiling. "It's been cold outside, so soup might hit the spot?"

"Sounds good to me!" Ash agreed, grinning.

"So how does beef stew sound?" Delia asked, preparing the pots in the kitchen. After a unanimous agreement, Brock got to work helping Delia cook while Jay, Ash, and Misty watched a documentary on water Pokémon. It amused Ash how Misty knew almost every single thing on the program, and would state information about the Pokémon before the show could.

Jay wasn't paying as much attention to the show as he was Ash and Misty. They were seated on opposite ends of the same couch, with a single blanket covering their legs. Ash would ask questions about water Pokémon, and Misty's eyes would light up every time she astonished Ash with her answer. Jay smiled to himself, glad that Ash had found himself such good friends on his journey.

Jay remembered Delia talking to him over the phone those seven years ago when Ash first left for his Pokémon journey. She was balling her eyes out worried that her baby was all alone out there and that he would get lost in the woods. But lo-and-behold, the very next day Ash had arrived safe and sound at Viridian City, although he was a bit shaken. Jay couldn't even begin to express how proud he was of Ash and his quick journey to Viridian City, and that he'd made a traveling partner in record time.

Thinking back on it, Misty was Ash's first friend outside of Pallet Town. Watching them interact on that couch was very satisfying. They enjoyed each other's company just like how Jay and Delia did in their youth. The word "youth" made Jay snicker. They weren't really that old yet, so he guessed he didn't have the right to complain about such things.

Eventually, Delia and Brock announced that dinner was ready, and everyone sat at the dining room to chow down. Ash took every single bite as if it was the most delicious thing he'd eaten in his life. It wasn't surprising to anyone else since most of his diet the past few years consisted of ramin and water. However, he did get a rare opportunity to eat at decent restraints every now and again, but nothing could even come close to what Brock and Delia could cook up.

After dinner, everyone helped take care of the mess and once that was done Delia started preparing Ash's room for him. In the time that Ash had been gone, Delia had kept his room ship shape while she waited for his inevitable return so it didn't take long to prepare.

Misty was set up in the guest bedroom across from Ash's room, and Brock had set up his own air mattress in Ash's room. Lucky for Ash, Delia had gone ahead and bought a bigger bed to replace his old bunk a few weeks ago.

Once Ash was set up for bed, everyone said their goodnights and went to sleep. All but Ash, that is. He laid there in his bed for what seemed like an eternity, only to glance over at the clock and find out that only two hours had past. "Damn it." He cursed to himself. He couldn't get to sleep since he was too used to staying up till very late, then getting up very early. His body was pretty much programed at that point, and he relished in how hard it was to fall asleep.

Eventually, after a few more minutes of tossing and turning, Ash gave up. He put on his jeans, his new jacket, and his hat to go on a walk. He silently slipped out of his bed so not to disturb Pikachu or Brock, exited the room, and was about to head down the hall when he heard the faint sound of somebody crying. Looking around, he found that the crying was coming from the guest bedroom, or Misty's room. Ash made his way over to the door and lightly knocked on the door. "Misty? Are you alright?" He whispered just loud enough so that Misty could hear.

_Oh God… what am I going to do?!_ She thought to herself, cupping her face in her hands. Misty sat on her bed Indian style, with Togapi resting between her legs. Togapi could sense Misty's paranoia and tried his best to cuddle up with her.

But Misty couldn't calm down. She was panicking about what she was going to tell Ash and Brock after Ash's birthday. She couldn't just leave without saying goodbye, and she couldn't say screw the Gym and abandon her sisters! She was stuck between a rock and a hard place, and she was scared of what she would have to do.

Suddenly, she heard a faint knock on the door. Her head shot up with tears streaming down her face as she tried to quite herself down. "Misty? Are you alright?" She heard on the other side. It was Ash. Had he heard her crying?

Misty whipped as much wetness from her face as she could, set Togapi off to the side of the bed, and opened the door for Ash. Unfortunately for Misty, Ash could tell right away that something was wrong.

"What's the matter?" He asked, concerned. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah… I'm fine." She lied, whipping her eyes again with her pajama sleeve. "What do you want?"

"I heard you crying." Ash reached up and pushed a strand out of her face and behind her ear. "Seriously, what's bothering you?"

"Nothing." She said sternly, walking back into her room and sitting down on the bed. "I just… remembered a very sad story is all."

Ash had known Misty long enough to know when she was lying, but he decided not to pry anymore. Instead, he sat down on the bed next to her in silence. Eventually, Misty was able to realize that Ash was wearing his normal clothes instead of his pajamas. "Ash, why are you all dressed up?" She asked.

"I couldn't sleep." He laughed softly. "I was about to go for a quick walk around the town." He looked to her and gave her a playful nudge with his shoulder. "You wanna join me?"

After a few seconds of thought, Misty nodded in agreement. She didn't know what she'd do two days from then, but she knew one thing. She wanted to spend as much time with Ash as possible. "Just give me a second to get dressed." Ash nodded and made his way out of the room.

It only took about two minutes for Misty to exit her room. She had braided her hair into a long ponytail and put on jeans and a light blue sweater over her pajama shirt. "Alright, I'm ready."

"Cool, let's go." Ash led the way down the hallway, past his parent's bedroom, and down the staircase. He and Misty were busy putting their shoes on when they heard something at the top of the steps.

"Pika…pi?" Yawned a sleepy Pikachu, rubbing his eyes. He looked down the steps at the two trainers, wondering what they were doing.

"Hey buddy, we're going for a walk." Ash whispered. "You want to come?"

"Pika." Pikachu whispered in agreement. He silently made his way down the steps and jumped onto Ash's shoulder. Misty giggled silently at the tiny electric mouse, and the duo (or trio, let's not forget Pikachu =3) made their way out of the house.

For a while Ash and Misty just walked side-by-side in silence, neither really knowing what to say. Misty was still a little jumpy from her panic attack minutes before, and the cold air outside didn't really help. Ash glanced over and noticed Misty shivering in her thin sweater. "Hey, are you cold?" He asked, getting a step closer.

"No…. I-I'm fine." Misty shivered some more. Ash smiled and shook his head before taking off his jacket and putting it around Misty. "Ash? What are you…?"

"The cold doesn't really bother me anymore." Ash grinned. "Go ahead, I don't need it."

Misty felt herself blush, and eventually bundled herself with Ash's jacket. The jacket itself was bigger than Misty expected, and provided just enough warmth to keep her from shivering. "Thanks Ash." She said, grateful.

"Pika!" Ash looked on the ground and saw a frowning Pikachu looking up at him. "Pika-Pikachu!"

"Oops! Sorry buddy!" Ash laughed, he forgot that Pikachu was lying down on his shoulder, and figured that the yellow mouse had to jump when Ash took off his jacket. "Come on, get up here." Pikachu jumped into Ash's arms and he kept him close to his chest.

Ash and Misty eventually walked past an old abandoned house that was overgrown with vines, weeds, brush, and leaves. Some windows were broken in, and pieces of the outside wall were falling apart. The sight made Misty a little nervous until Ash put an arm around her and pulled her in close. This surprised Misty, and she looked up at Ash to see his face.

"Don't worry about that old thing." He said, looking at the house. "I used to go in there all the time when I was little, so I know for a fact there's nothing in there."

"Well… I still find it a little sad." She said, looking to the ground.

Ash looked at her with a confused expression. "Hm? What are you talking about?" He asked, curious.

"People used to live in that house." Misty started. "It was somebodies home, and now it's nothing but a husk." She looked up at Ash. "Have you ever imagined that happening to your house years from now?" She asked.

Ash had to ponder the question for a little bit. He never thought about it like that before, but now that he did he could see how his house could fall into that kind of state. "Wow… I never thought of that before."

"Well… I don't know." Misty shifted a little, still a little nervous about Ash's arm around her. "I guess… I'm just weird."

"You're not weird." Ash snickered. "You're one of the nicest, smartest, beautiful people I know."

"Beautiful?" Misty repeated. She looked up at Ash who realized he'd had a slip of the tongue. He looked away and coughed nervously.

"So um... where should we go first on our journey?" He asked, trying to change the subject. Misty just looked down on the ground, remembering the lie she'd told to Ash and Brock.

"I… I don't know." She said, keeping her eyes trained on the ground. Ash just figured that Misty was starting to get tired, so they remained silent the rest of the way back to the house.

* * *

**WOW! That was my longest chapter out of any story yet!**

**Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and are looking forward to the next! Like I said, this Arc will be mainly like a slice of life until the last few chapters, then we can start getting into the action packed arcs!**

**SEE YAH!**


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